Communities Of Belief

This book is about attitudes and behaviour in early modern France, dealing particularly with the conflicts related to social and intellectual change, and with the tensions between the elite and the common people. The topics discussed include witchcraft, popular belief and superstition,confession, the family, Church and State, and popular revolt. Combining penetrating analyses of important topics with detailed focus on individual cases, Communities of Belief offers a lively critique of some current interpretations of seventeenth century France.Part I, 'Rebels, Deviants and Victims', concentrates on history from below, while Part II, 'Agencies of Control', examines the intellectual and institutional superstructure and its relation to society as a whole. Robin Briggs shows how the communal oral culture of the older Europe was graduallybroken up and replaced by a recognizable modern culture.

"In this book researchers have employed different approaches to examine and describe various types of relationships among people in communities by using social capital as a conceptual and theoretical tool"--Provided by publisher.

Against the backdrop of the resurgence of religious forces in East and West that began in the late 20th century these collected essays reflect upon the role of religion in the transatlantic world. When one takes a closer look at the generally held opinion that the western societies have undergone and are continuing to undergo a more or less thorough process of secularization this notion appears less convincing - at least in view of the persistent vitality of religion in the United States. From this point of view, there is a transatlantic divide that separates the United States from Europe, and by all appearances Europe alone stands out as the only truly secular continent in the modern world. But this begs the question whether the obvious decline of the public role of the traditional church establishment signals in fact the emergence of a secular Euro culture. Rather, it has recently been argued, a metamorphosis of the religious and of religion is taking place in Europe: Europeans are in comparison to people in other parts of the world not less but differently religious. Written by highly renowned scholars the essays in this volume discuss the varieties of religious forms and communities of belief from a transatlantic vantage point. They approach the subject in an interdisciplinary and nuanced manner from diverse angels and perspectives. Naturally these presentations will not exhaust this highly complex topic. But they offer a fresh look at the interplay between spiritual and religious forces and public affairs in a modernized transatlantic West.

The question of to what extent, manifestations of religious beliefs should be permitted in the European public sphere has become a salient and controversial topic in recent years. Despite the increasing interest however, debates have rarely questioned the conventional wisdom that an increase in the range of security measures employed by a government inevitably leads to a decrease in the human rights enjoyed by individuals. This book analyses the relationship between state security regime changes and the right to religious freedom in the EU. It presents a comparative analysis of the impact these regime changes have had on the politics, policies and protections of religious freedom across the EU member states in the post-2001 environment. The book provides a timely investigation into the role of national legislation, the European Court of Human Rights, and societal trends in the protection of religious freedom, and in so doing demonstrates why the relationship between state security and religious freedom is one of the most socially significant challenges facing policymakers and jurists in Europe at the present time.

Part of the series Key Concepts in Indigenous Studies, this book focuses on the concepts that recur in any discussion of nature, culture and society among the indigenous. The book, the first in a five-volume series, deals with the two crucial concepts of environment and belief systems of indigenous peoples from all the continents of the world. With contributions from renowned scholars, activists and experts from around the globe, it presents a salient picture of the environments of indigenous peoples and discusses the essential features of their belief systems. It explores indigenous perspectives related to religion, ritual and cultural practice, art and design, and natural resources, as well as climate change impacts among such communities in Latin and North America, Oceania (Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific Islands), India, Brazil, Southeast Asia and Africa. Bringing together academic insights and experiences from the ground, this unique book's wide coverage will serve as a comprehensive guide for students, teachers and scholars of indigenous studies. It will be essential reading for those in anthropology, social anthropology, sociology and social exclusion studies, religion and theology, and cultural studies, as well as activists working with indigenous communities.

This revised edition of a classic college-level introduction to theology presents the core doctrines of the Christian faith, encouraging readers to connect belief with everyday life. Stanley Grenz, one of the leading evangelical scholars of his era, and Jay Smith, an expert on Grenz's theological legacy, construct a helpful theology that is biblical, historical, and contemporary. The third edition includes a foreword by John Franke, a new preface and afterword, resources for further study, and updated footnotes. The book's easy-to-use format includes end-of-chapter discussion questions and connects theological concepts with current cultural examples.